Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,042,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,247 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 1.30% of Verona Pharma worth $30,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRNA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Verona Pharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verona Pharma by 37.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Several research analysts have commented on VRNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.83.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Verona Pharma
In other news, CEO David Zaccardelli sold 245,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $1,076,533.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,004,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,721,549.60. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 116,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.38, for a total value of $511,128.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,973,264 shares in the company, valued at $61,202,896.32. This represents a 0.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,094,432 shares of company stock worth $9,748,833 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.
Shares of VRNA stock opened at $40.50 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.74 and its 200 day moving average is $26.18. Verona Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $40.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 13.03 and a quick ratio of 12.88. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.46.
Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verona Pharma plc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with unmet medical needs. The company's product candidate is ensifentrine, an inhaled and dual inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and PDE4 enzymes that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cystic fibrosis.
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